Someday

(post 6 of 10 in '10)

In 2010, I tried really hard to remember this from an Erma Bombeck column:


A young mother writes: "I know you've written before about the empty-nest syndrome -- that lonely period after the children are grown and gone. Right now, I'm up to my eyeballs in laundry and muddy boots. The baby is teething; the boys are fighting. My husband just called and said to eat without him, and I fell off my diet. Lay it on me again, will you?"

OK.


One of these days, you'll shout, "Why don't you kids grow up and act your age!"
And they will.


Or, "You guys get outside and find yourselves something to do ... and don't slam the door!"
And they won't.


You'll straighten up the boys' bedroom neat and tidy -- bumper stickers discarded, bedspread tucked and smooth, toys displayed on the shelves. Hangers in the closet. Animals caged. And you'll say out loud, "Now I want it to stay this way."
And it will.


You'll prepare a perfect dinner with a salad that hasn't been picked to death and a cake with no finger traces in the icing, and you'll say, "Now, there's a meal for company."
And you'll eat it alone.


You'll say: "I want complete privacy on the phone. No dancing around. No demolition crews. Silence! Do you hear?" And you'll have it.


No more plastic tablecloths stained with spaghetti.
No more bedspreads to protect the sofa from damp bottoms.
No more gates to stumble over at the top of the basement steps.
No more clothespins under the sofa.
No more playpens to arrange a room around.


No more anxious nights under a vaporizer tent.
No more sand on the sheets or Popeye movies in the bathrooms.
No more iron-on patches, wet, knotted shoestrings, tight boots, or rubber bands for ponytails.


Imagine. A lipstick with a point on it. No baby sitter for New Year's Eve. Washing only once a week. Seeing a steak that isn't ground. Having your teeth cleaned without a baby on your lap.


No PTA meetings.
No car pools.
No blaring radios.
No one washing her hair at 11 o'clock at night.
Having your own roll of Scotch tape.


Think about it. No more Christmas presents out of toothpicks and library paste.
No more sloppy oatmeal kisses.
No more tooth fairy.
No giggles in the dark.
No knees to heal, no responsibility.


Only a voice crying, "Why don't you grow up?"


and the silence echoing, "I did."

Some days it was easier than others to remember that time flies and my kitchen floors won't be sticky and littered with crumbs forever, and someday I'll sleep through the night again and someday the ever-growing laundry piles will no longer be my nemesis. Someday I won't cook dinner with a baby on my hip, a toddler on the counter and what feels like general mayhem swirling around me.

BUT someday, I won't have a nursing baby girl to give me an excuse to leave the laundry piling and the floors crusty, and someday (very soon) my baby boy wont run his fingers through my hair anymore and tell me how much he lubs me. Someday, it will take more than a silly face or an improptu game of chase to bring on belly laughs. Someday I won't be needed like I am right now. Someday I'll be one of those grandma's who looks at babies longingly in the grocery store and stops to tell young moms to enjoy it, really enjoy it, because it's over too fast.

 Someday, I won't have to worry about keeping my floss hidden,

and when I turn my back, this won't happen.

 
 No one will roll out mashmallows on my kitchen floor,

or dump brown sugar out in my baking drawer.

No one will surprise me at bathtime with footballs drawn on their tummies.

 Someday he'll figure out that undies are more comfy worn the right way....even if that means you can't see the picture on them.

 He'll pour his own cereal without overflowing the bowl.

 Someday he'll shave for real,

 and he won't need the assistance of heavy equipment to eat his oatmeal.

Someday he'll draw pictures

 and he'll keep the drawing on the paper instead of the grout lines

 Someday he won't wear mascara (I hope), or smear it on the couch.

 Someday my backyard won't be a dirtpile fort with treasures like ladders, sledge hammers and toilet plungers

.......and no one will be small enough to lay on the counter and watch t.v.

....or sit on the counter to eat their breakfast.

Someday I'll walk into the kitchen, and I won't find these kind of messes,

or bust anyone eating scoops of butter.

Life right now is busy and messy and hectic and some days are downright HARD, but it's also good in so many ways.

Road Tripping (part b)

We started day 4 at the Snowbird Resort,

where we rode a lift to the tippy top of the mountains. It was way out of my comfort zone. I don't do heights.

Our kids had no problem with the height of things.

Once we were off the lift, I was counting down until the next ride back down. I was so scared of losing someone over the edge. The pictures really don't do it justice. The view was beautiful, but the drop-offs were steep and I happen to have a vivid imagination and could see us losing a child or two off the edge of the mountain.

We wrapped up day four at the Aquarium.

We began day five with a quick stroll around Temple Square.

Does Chris look grouchy?....he really wasn't, not yet anyway......He was, however, quite grouchy when we got back to the van and the meter patrol was writing us a ticket for our expired parking meter. Yeah, he wasn't too happy about that one considering I was the one that fed the meter and I was also the one who dawdled and didn't watch the time. In my defense, it was barely expired, like less than five minutes expired, but the meter lady had no mercy.

After Temple Square, we spent several hours at "This is the Place" monument and Heritage Village. Our first stop at Heritage Village was this little cabin where we played pioneer games. Emma took a hard lesson here when she forgot her purse on the table at this cabin. We went back to get it, but it had been taken. We checked with management and called several times in the following days before we headed home, we even stopped by on our way out of town, but no one turned it in. Emma was pretty sad since it had her digital camera, video camera, money, library books and even the new earrings she had just bought in it.
Aside from the purse drama, we loved Heritage Park. There were lots of unique activities there.

Ava loved riding these horses, she was all smiles until it was time to get off.

The girls panned for gold in this little stream, and later traded it in for candy at the "bank."

The view riding this little train was incredible. You could see the entire Salt Lake valley.

The girls learned a few songs and performed them for us.

We went for a late lunch at the Lion House after Heritage Park, and then we were off to the Children's Museum.

Day six began with a tour of the Tracy Aviary.

Following the tour of the aviary, we headed to the Clark Planetarium for some 3D movie fun.

Following the movie, we drove south to Thanksgiving Point to visit the Dinosaur Museum. I'm not sure why, but I didn't take a single picture there. After the museum, we visited the gardens and the littles played and played in the water and the bush mazes.

Emma wanted me to take her picture. I was more than happy too! I usually don't have very cooperative subjects.

Owen was intrigued by these water sprayers. He'd wait and wait for them to spray and then finally when he'd about given up they'd shoot up water.

This was a tunnel leading to a "bear cave." It was really dark and you couldn't see the end from the beginning so Grace took my phone to use as a flashlight.

Day seven we bounced back to Lagoon. This was the only picture I took because by then my parents had headed home, so it took all my hands and all my attention just to keep track of O.

It was time to head for home on Day 8, but before we hit the road, we played for a while at the children's museum.